No one should be denied the opportunity to get an education and increase their earning potential based solely on their inability to pay for a college education.

We can continue our progress as a Nation toward the promise that all people are created equal and that our Nation will treat every person in that spirit.

In fact, the Harvard study data indicates that 70 percent of African American children attend schools that are predominately African American, about the same level as in 1968 when Dr. King died.

Unequal funding resources also results in unequal educational opportunity when you consider studies that show that one half of low income students who are qualified to attend college do not attend because they can't afford to.

The Federal prison population has increased more than 7-fold over the past 20 years.

No one should be denied the opportunity to get an education and increase their earning potential based solely on their inability to pay for a college education.

Rather than following through on the proven crime and violence prevention techniques that work, we are back to tough-talking sound byte policies that have been proven to not only fail to reduce crime but actually increase crime, waste taxpayers' money and discriminate against minorities.